Automatic cycle-control mechanism for washing machines



July 2, 1957 W J. SHARBAUGH AUTOMATIC CYCLE-CONTROL MECHANISM FORWASHING MACHINES Filed Sept; 1, 1954 INVENTOR.

l V JANE; J/MRBAz/M Fl G 4.

Unite AUTOMATIC CYCLE-CONTROL MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES Thisinvention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements inautomatic washing machines and, more particularly, to a removable fullyautomatic cyclecontrol mechanism for establishing a standardizedsequence of operation for the washing machine with which it. is.associated. A

Automatic washing machines of the type presently available embody timerswhich consist essentially'of a series ofycams mounted on. a shaft.turned by a synchronous. electric motor having a fixed speed. The camscontrol the: several successive operations of the machine, such as. thesoaking, washing, emptying, rinsing, and drying cycles. Ordinarily, amachine of the so-called automatic; type will follow an establishedpattern of operations in successive order and for periods of timeestablished by the relationshipof the several cams. Thus, for eachautomatic washing. cycle, a soaking periodof a certain establishedduration is followed by a. washing period of another establishedduration and the washing period: is, in turn, followed by a drainingperiod, a rinsing period, a, spin-dry period,, and several othersuccessive rinsing and drying, periods, all of. established duration.These: time. periods are factory-set and can be varied only by manualadjustmentv of the timer control to shorten or skip any particularperiod. The usual household washing machine, therefore, is automaticonly for one factory-established cycle, and such cycle is a com promise.designed for washing cotton fabrics. Such cycles, however, are notsuitable for woolens, heavy blankets, sheer materials and syntheticfabrrics, such as nylon, Dacron, Orlon and the like.

In. order to wash woolens. and: other materials, such asnylon', Dacron,Orlon and the like, it is necessary for the housewife to varythe-washing cycle by circumventing the automatic operationof. the timercontrol and follow a self-timed cycle: by manually operating, the timerand thereby followinga. sequence of operations having. periodssatisfactory-1 for the particular fabrics being washed. This difiicnltyis, clearly evidentfrom a perusal of the manualsof instructions andother booklets or literature accompanying automatic washing machines.All of these instruction-manuals; and booklets contain repeatedlyemphasized warnings against? using; the automatically timed cycle onmany items, such as woolens and other fabrics. In fact, most of thesemanuals andbooklets list various recommended manually imposed-washing.cycles for the various so-called special fabrics. Actually, there isnothing particular special about these various fabrics fromthelaunderingpoint of view. They merely require washingcyclespartieularly suitable to the physical characteristics of. thefiber involved. Practically any of these materials. can readilybewashedv if: the housewife iswilling-[to stand over her machine andcontrol the duration of the various: washingandzrinsingoperations bymanually operating the timer.

It is, therefore,,theprimary: object of": the present invention toprovide an automatic timer. mechanism for washing, machines which': canreadily be modified in a tates Patent ice simple and eflicient manner toestablish any desired sequence of washing operation and cause thewashing machine to follow such sequence of operation automatically andwithout manual control.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automaticwashing machine timer of the type stated which is capable of receiving aseries of interchangeable disks, each of which will cause the machine tofollow some established or desired sequence of washing and rinsingoperations.

More particularly, it is the object of the present invention to providea timing device for automatic washing machines capable of receiving aseries of interchangeable disks, each of which is equipped with aplurality of annular cam grooves acting upon a series of switch plungersor other control elements to establish or control the sequence ofoperations of the washing machine.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in thenovel features of form, construction, ar-

rangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed outin the claims.

In the accompanying drawing (one sheet)-- Figure 1 is a perspective viewof an automatic washing machine equipped with a timing mechanismconstructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the timing mechanism in its startingposition;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the timing mechanism in its final or offposition; and

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along line E-d of Figure3.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawing,whichv illustrates a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Adesignates an automatic washing. machine comprising the conventionalrectangular housing in which the tumbling cylinder or other washingmechanism is located. Inasmuch as the present invention does not relatein any way to the particular type of washing mechanism employed, thismechanism is not illustrated or shown in detail.

The washing machine A is preferably provided at the rear portion of itstop panel l with an upstanding control panel 2, which may be die-castfrom an aluminum alloy or molded from a synthetic resin, as desired. Thecontrol panel 2 is provided around its margins with a plurality ofbosses- 3 for receiving. screws 4, which, in turn, secure a thindecorative facepanel 5. Rigidly mounted upon the under face of the panel2 is an electric timer motor 6 preferably of the synchronous type havinga drive shaft '7 extending; outwardly therefrom and provided on its endwith a driving pinion 8, which meshes with a driven pinion 9, which iskeyed, pinned, or otherwise rigidly fastened to the inner end of thetimer shaft 10, the latter being suitably journaled in, and extendingthrough, an enlarged journal boss 11 formed integrally in the panel 2.At its outer end, the timer shaft 10 is provided with a'diametrallyenlarged collar 12 and an outwardly projecting axially slotted endportion 13.

Also rigidly mounted upon the panel 2, in laterally spaced relation tothe timer shaft 10, is a main switch 14 having an outwardly projectingoperating plunger 15, which is. substantially radialwith respect to thetimer shaft 10 and bears against an adjustment screw 16 threadedlymounted in a depending leg' 17, which is, in turn, rigidly mounted uponthe free end of a pivoted actuating arm 18,- the latter being rockablysupported upon a pivot pin 1%, which is in outwardly spaced parallelrelation to the timer shaftld. Hooked or otherwise fastened to the arm18, intermediate its end,.is a tension spring 20, which is, in turn,hooked or otherwise suitably fastened at its other end'to-the panel 2,so that the'arm 18 is resiliently urged inwardly toward the timer shaft145. Mounted on the free end of the arm 18 is an outwardly projectingrod 21, which is parallel to the timer shaft and is provided at itsouter end with a handle 22.

Similarly mounted upon the panel 2,'in radial relation to the timershaft 10, are four control switches 23, 24, 25, 26, having outwardlyprojecting plungers 27, 28, 29, 30, respectively, which aresubstantially parallel to the timer shaft 19 and extend freely throughthe face panel 5. The switches 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, are of conventionalinternal design and are, therefore, not described in particular detail.The switch 14, however, is connected to the main power line of themachine and operates as a main on and off switch. The switches 23, 24,25, 26, respectively, control sequence operations, such as the rinsingcycle, washing cycle, drying cycle, and so on. Such switches may beconventionally connected through solenoid valves and relays (not shown)to the various operating components of the machine controlled thereby.

Removably mounted upon the end portion 13 of the shaft 10, by means of akey or tongue which fits into the slots thereof, is a timing disk 31molded of some suitable synthetic resin, such as Bakelite or the likeand provided 7 upon its under face with a series of concentric annularcam grooves 32, 33, 34, 35, respectively located for operativeengagement with the switch plungers 27, 28, 29, 30. The outer peripheralmargin of the disk 31 is also provided with cam surfaces 36, 37,connected by cam risers or shoulders 38, 39, for operatively bearingagainst the rod 21. The disk 31 is removably held in place upon the endportion 13 of the timer shaft 10 by means of a knob 40, which isfriction-fitted or otherwise releasably held in place.

The annular cam grooves 32, 33, 34, 35, have a sequence of risers anddwells which will cause the several switch plungers 27, 28, 29, 30, toshift up and down as the disk 31 is rotated by operation of the timermotor 6 and timer shaft 10 through engagement of the gears 8, 9. Itwill, of course, be understood that a series of different disks 31,having various different arrangements of risers and dwells in theannular cam grooves 32, 33, 34, 35, can be supplied to establishpractically any desired sequence of washing operation and the housewifecan, therefore, employ any desired automatic sequence of Washingoperations by simply interchanging the various disks 31. Thus, a disk 31can be provided which will establish a washing cycle accurately suitablefor washing cotton fabrics and another disk 31 having a washing cyclesuitable for woolens. Other disks 31 having washing cycles for varioussynthetic fabrics can also be supplied. The housewife may then simplyinterchange the disks 31, depending upon what type of fabric she maydesire to wash in the washing machine A.

The on and off operations are controlled by the arm 18, which is shiftedinwardly and outwardly as the disk 31 rotates. In order to change thedisk 31, the handle 22 is pushed outwardly until the lower end of theleg 17 engages a spring detent or catch 41, which serves to hold the armoutwardly away from the disk 31, as shown in Figure 4, so that thelatter may be removed and replaced. Ordinarily, the disk 31 willcomplete a full cycle each time the machine is started, but if for anyreason resetting back to start should be necessary, the

disk 31 may be reset to start position by pushing the arm 18 out torestrained position where it is engaged by the catch 41 and merelylifting the timer shaft 10 and its associated elements until the pinions8, 9, are disengaged. This can be accomplished simply by grasping theknob and lifting the entire structure until the pinions 8, 9, are freeof each other. Thereupon, the knob 46 and disk 31, together with thetimer shaft 10, can be rotated until the disk 31 is in start position,as shown in Figure 2. Thereupon, the arm 18 can be manually pushedinwardly until disengaged from the detent or catch 41, whereupon, itwill be urged inwardly by the spring 20 until the rod 21 bears againstthe camedge 36 of the disk 31. In this latter position, the contactscrew 16 will bear against the plunger 15 and force it inwardly, closingthe circuit to the switch 14 and energizing the various components ofthe washing machine A, including the timer motor 6, which will thencommence rotation. As the timer motor 6 rotates, it will drive the timershaft 10 and the disk 31 carried thereby, and the rotation of the disk31 will, in turn, operate the several switches 23, 24, 25, 26, to causethe washing machine A to perform its various washing operations in theparticular sequence established by the pattern of the camming grooves32, 33, 34, 35.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form,construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of theautomatic cycle-control mechanism for washing machines may be made andsubstituted for those herein shown and described without departing fromthe nature and principle of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

l. A timer for automatic washing machines and the like, said timercomprising a timing motor, a timing shaft operatively connected thereto,a plurality of switches mounted in proximity to said shaft, each of saidswitches having an actuating plunger extending outwardly therefrom inspaced parallel relation to the shaft, said plungers being respectivelylocated at different radial distances from the timing shaft, a plateinterchangeably mounted on the shaft for rotation therewith, said platebeing of such shape and size as to cover completely the upstanding endsof the plungers, said plate having a fiat under face which issubstantially perpendicular to the shaft, said plate being provided uponits under face with a plurality of concentrically spaced annular grooveshaving cam surfaces therein, each of which is actuatingly engaged withone of said plungers and a knob detachably mounted on the outer end ofthe shaft for detachably holding the plate upon the shaft for rotationtherewith.

2. A timer forautomatic washing machines and the like, said timercomprising a constant speed motor, a timer shaft operably driven by themotor and projecting outwardly therefrom, a plurality of switchesmounted adjacent to the timer shaft and in spaced relation to eachother, each switch being provided with spring biased actuating meanswhich is operable in a direction parallel to the timer shaft, theseveral actuating means being located at different radial distancesoutwardly from the timer shaft, a plate covering the switch actuatingmeans, said plate having a fiat under face and a smooth peripheral edge,said plate being removably mounted on the timer shaft, means fordetachably holding the plate on the shaft, a series of spaced camsurfaces formed upon the flat under face of the plate, each of which islocated for operative engagement with a different one of the switchplungers for actuating said switch plunger as the plate rotates with theshaft, and a main switch also mounted adjacent to the shaft, said mainswitch being provided with switch actuating means bearing against a camsurface formed around the peripheral edge of said plate.

3. A timer for automatic washing machines and the like, said timercomprising a timing motor, a timing shaft operatively connected thereto,a plurality of switch means mounted in proximity to said shaft, each ofsaid means having an actuating plunger extending outwardly therefrom,and a plate removably mounted on the shaft for rotation therewith, saidplate being provided upon its under face with a plurality ofconcentrically spaced annular grooves having bottom faces provided withaxially depressed cam surfaces, each of said plungers being respectivelydisposed endwise within one of such grooves with its end face abuttinglyengaged against the cam surface thereof.

.4, A timer for automatic washing machinesand the like, said timerconsisting of a housing at least one wall of which is exposed so as tobe accessible to the user, a timer shaft journalled in the housing andhaving one end projecting outwardly through said accessible wall, aconstant speed motor carried by the housing and drivingly connected tothe shaft, a plurality of switches mounted in the housing in spacedrelation to each other, each of said switches having a plunger-likeactuator element which is parallel to the timer shaft and projectsshiftably through said accessible wall, the several actuator elementsbeing spaced outwardly from the timer at different radial distancestherefrom, a disc slidably mounted on the projecting end of the timershaft in completely overlying relation to the plungers, said disc havingmeans for engagement with the timer shaft whereby the disc is rotated asthe timer shaft rotates, said disc having a flat underface presentedtoward the accessible wall and being provided on such undersurface witha plurality of radially spaced annular cam surfaces each of which islocated for operative engagement with a different one of the switchactuating elements for operating said switches in a programmed sequenceas the plate rotates with the shaft, and means removably mounted on theoutermost end of the shaft outwardly of the disc and switches forreleasably holding the disc upon the shaft for rotation therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,055,031 Hutchings Sept. 22, 1936 2,524,338 Ylinen Oct. 3, 19502,603,725 Dietrich July 15, 1952 2,608,082 Jones Aug. 26, 1952 2,641,661Puerner June 9, 1953 2,656,424 Frerer et a1. Oct. 20, 1953 2,703,347Constantine Mar. 1, 1955 2,711,790 Lorenz June 28, 1955

